After 40 years, ABBA is back and better than ever. The ABBA Mania concert is currently touring the U.S. and is scheduled to play at 8 p.m. on March 1 at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas.

In 1974, the Swedish group ABBA won the annual Eurovision Song Contest at the Brighton Dome in England with the song “Waterloo.”

The group name ABBA is an acronym for the first names of the group members, Agnetha Fältskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song lyrics were primarily written by Ulvaeus who played lead guitar, the music was composed by Anderson who played piano, and the songs were primarily sung by the lead singers Fältskog, Lyngstad with Ulvaeus and Anderson singing in the background as well.

“Waterloo” was ABBA’s breakout song and was No. 1 in many European nations. Several dozen hit songs became popular during the next eight years. The group was active from 1972-1982 and has sold an estimated 385 million albums worldwide, according to Universal Music, Canada. If you never have heard of ABBA, may I suggest you listen and view the YouTube video “ABBA – I Still Have Faith in You” from their new album, “Voyage.”

Since the ABBA group members are now in their 70s, they are not playing the concerts.

Instead, a 10-member band will play the music and ABBA virtual avatars sing the hit songs, both new and old. The ABBA digital avatars were specially created for these concerts using computer technology and the performances have been very well received by the audiences attending in England at the ABBA theater. ABBA fans can go online for a listing of all ABBA Mania events scheduled for the U.S. and to purchased tickets online.